Bertuzzi is hurt, they don't think Svechnikov is ready, PAP or Booth aren't going to hold them back, plus I'd rather have one of them as the 13th guy sitting in the press box than a kid who could be playing in GR instead. I'd still rather have Svechnikov in Detroit, but Holland is going to do his thing

Suter, you have to do deals like that if you want a guy of his caliber in free agency. You take as many good years as you can when he's worth it and hope the ones at the end don't bite you in the ass too hard. Parise was just a good winger and didn't deserve nearly that much from day 1.

Here's the thing, "he's a good guy" doesn't mean he's going to help the team win. Sheahan doesn't do anything that any random 4th liner can do, and he's soft on top of it. Had I been in his spot and not scoring goals last year, you bet your ass I would have been using my big body to do some damage. Other than some kind of blind loyalty and/or an over the top preference for college guys, there was no reason he should have been playing more than 10 minutes a game on the 4th line or in nearly as many games as he did.

A lot of these are the results of giving a player a deal based on one good year or a big playoff run. Most of the others were good, or at least ok, deals but injuries slowed the player down. Parise got his deal to get Suter, and I said it was a mistake I'm glad Holland didn't make a the time.

Abdelkader, Helm, Nielsen, and Daley shouldn't have been signed, at least not to the deals they got.
Ericsson was ok at the time, young-ish guy who looked like he was going to be a solid player for a long time, then he got hurt and stated playing scared.
Franzen wanted to sign, Hossa was looking around, you sign the guy who wants to be here before you lose them both. As much as people complain about it, it'd be ten times worse if he had lost both. If not for the concussions, Franzern would have been well worth that deal.
There was no reason to think that Weiss would hurt his groin, then not say anything and make it worse. that's on him. By the time he could play he was so far in Babcock's doghouse he was never getting out.
Kronwall was a #1 caliber D well before Lidstrom retired. He was on the second pair to A: Balance it out and B: Lidstrom preferred a right shooting partner. He wasn't elite, but he was solidly in the 6-15 range of best D in the NHL. Considering he got 2nd pair minutes and 2nd PP time, he put up great numbers. He was healthy when he signed his latest deal, then got hurt.
Dekeyser is a solid 2nd pair D. They had to pay him or someone else would have. His bad year has more to do with him being played in a role he's not suited for ob a team coached by an imbecile than his alleged lack of talent.

Too similar of players. They need to split them up. Dekeyser-Daley, ???-Green. The problem is the three of them are 2nd pair guys and everyone else is a 3rd pair guy. If you put Dekeyser with a legit #1, he'd look better.

Look at what players who had a similar year to AA got. It was in the $2.2 mil range. "Oh," the apologists will say, " most of those players were drafted higher or have played another year in the NHL." Doesn't matter. If anything, the fact that he put up those numbers at a younger age than they did suggest he cold be better.
The other argument is "well, what will they have to pay Mantha and Larkin if AA gets $2.5?" The answer is market value, and it wouldn't be an issue if not for all of the bad contracts, which is why I got so pissed that every UFA signed by Holland lately got " just $500k or so too much." Kissazz and the rest of the Holland slappy crew said it wasn't a big deal when anyone who understood basic math could figure out that $500k too much for each of 6 or 7 players adds up to a lot of money. Nielsen was an absolute stupid signing, even though in a vacuum it' isn't "horrible." They got an aging guy who has never been more than a 2nd line center and who is declining into solidly 3C ability to help make up for losing one of the best Wings players in the last 40 years, and he helped lead them to their worst season in decades. Glad we had him so they could finish next to last in the conference instead of last, that would have been REALLY embarrassing! If we're REALLY lucky, maybe the team will a;; miraculously rebound and they'll get the 8th seed this year and get swept, losing any shot of a top 3 pick in the draft.
Don't sign Nielsen to that deal, everyone has plenty of room to sign. Don't give GLendening double what he's worth, AA can sign. Don't pay grinders approaching their 30th birthday too much, AA can sign and they won't have to be concerned about Mantha and Larkin's next deals.

They'd match, then pray for the LTIR fairy to visit
There were 2 offers. 2x$1.9 and 1 year at $1.4. That's a lowball. Leverage or not, AA should be getting more than either of those deals, that's been the market for similar RFA's.

Well, the argument goes, if they give AA $2.5 mil, what do they have to pay him on his next deal? What do they have to pay Larkin and Mantha? You have to control costs for younger players. So that you can give grinders approaching their 30th birthday big contracts, and vet free agents that might help you squeak in as the 8th seed contracts.

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